Team Itachi
by Blank402
Summary: Quick, decisive action puts an end to the planned Uchiha coup d'état, leaving no need for the clan to be massacred. Years later, Uzumaki Naruto is placed on the team of a rookie jounin sensei: Uchiha Itachi.
1. Chapter 1

**Team Itachi  
**Chapter 1

* * *

Naruto is running.

He weaves around trees with gargantuan trunks, trees with branches that reach farther in the sky than the Hokage Monument, trees with roots as thick around as he is. Sweat glistens on his face and soaks his hair so thoroughly that his blonde spikes are limp. His pulse pounds so loud he can hear it in his ears and every mouthful of thick, hot air leaves his lungs burning for more. Wide blue eyes search over his shoulder, the snake chasing him is gone.

Stumbling to a stop, he braces himself against the aged bark of a tree. He stands there for a moment until his pulse slows and his breathing evens out. He steps away from the tree and surveys his surroundings: impossibly large trees as far as the eye can see, a forest canopy so thick thin beams of sunlight fight to get through, eerie silence, a heat so thick and heavy it feels unnatural.

He unzips and discards his orange jacket; the black undershirt he wears is soaked with sweat. He tightens his forehead protector and draws a kunai before resuming his trudge through the forest undergrowth, slowly now that he doesn't have a giant snake chasing him. Finding Sasuke and Sakura is his first priority, but they flew in different directions after the snake attack, so there's no telling where they are.

A rustling sound startles him. He spins and hurls his kunai then watches as it comes within an inch of skewering a crow sitting on a low hanging branch. The crow, unperturbed, cocks its head and regards him with ink black eyes. Naruto shows the bird his middle finger before turning on his heel and marching away. The crow's caw mocks him as he marches on.

"Stupid bird," Naruto grumbles.

A cry echoes through the forest. Shuriken fill Naruto's hands, but the sound comes from far off. Another cry, this time Naruto recognizes it as a scream, high-pitched and full of terror. He's running again, trying to pinpoint the origin of the scream. All of a sudden, he finds himself bursting out of the tree line and into a clearing, temporarily blinded by the onslaught of unfiltered sunlight. He skids to a stop and throws a hand over his eyes, peering at the sky through the spaces between his fingers: a fat, golden sun and a cloudless blue sky; a beautiful sight marred only by a circling flock of black birds, more crows.

Eyes adjusting to the sunlight, he casts them downward and surveys the clearing: a small, verdant circle surrounded by an imposing wall of trees; in the center, a large gathering of crows hop about and caw. Naruto's heart skips a beat when he notices the trail of blood, streaking from where the crows are gathered and coming to a spotty end at his feet. Haltingly, he follows the glistening trail, kunai gripped in his hand. The flock of crows flies as he nears; the fluttering of their wings is the only sound in the clearing.

Naruto's heart stops beating.

Sakura's body lies in the center of the clearing. Her skin is ashen and her pink hair is matted with blood. Moss green eyes and thin lips have been pecked away by the birds, leaving a horrifying image that sends Naruto reeling. He stumbles backwards, falls on his behind and finds that he can't pull his eyes away from the body of his crush no matter how hard he tries. The crows return and resume their grisly feast.

"Naruto…"

Naruto turns and finds a man shambling toward him. He recognizes the scarred face and tanned skin of Iruka, though the skin is not so tanned as usual. Iruka staggers toward him, one hand reaching out while the other is clutched at his midsection, the only thing keeping his guts from spilling out. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Naruto pushes himself off the ground and scrambles through the dirt, reaching Iruka in time to catch him as he falls to the ground. Tears fill his eyes as the only friend he's ever had dies in his arms.

Then, like waking from a dream, he finds himself not in the forest but outside it, on his knees just outside the gates. He blinks once… twice… before looking to his right. Kneeling next to him is Sakura, her eyes brimming with tears. Next to her is Sasuke, dark eyes wide and mouth agape. Standing before the three is Itachi, arms crossed over his flak jacket, dark eyes impassive.

"What the hell…" Naruto looks down at his hands. They are free of blood. He squeezes them into fists and looks up at Itachi, blue eyes blazing. "What the hell did you do to us?"

"A genjutsu." Sasuke's voice sounds hollow. He is looking up at his brother, a mingled look of disbelief and mistrust on his face. "You trapped us in a genjutsu."

Itachi's response is a slight inclination of his head.

_Genjustu, genjutsu, genjutsu._ The word echoes in Naruto's brain. Nothing he'd experienced was real. Knowing that fact does nothing to help him forget what he saw. Sakura's mutilated corpse…Iruka-sensei dying in his arms…

He slams a fist into the ground; the pain gives him something else to focus on. "Why would you do that to us?" he growls.

"You were told you would be tested today," says Itachi. "You were misinformed about what the test would entail."

Sakura's voice comes out strained. "You were testing us to see if we could break the genjutsu?"

"No, I don't expect genin fresh out of the Academy to be able to break my genjutsu."

"Then why?" Sakura sounds and looks as if she is on the verge of crying. Naruto swears to himself that if she sheds a single tear he will never forgive Itachi-sensei.

"As a shinobi, you _will_ lose those closest to you. Friends, family, teammates; anyone who is important to you is at risk because of the life you've chosen. You cannot be shinobi without accepting this fact. That is the purpose of the test."

Itachi's words hang in the air a moment. Sasuke asks the question he knows is on the minds of his teammates. "Did we pass?"

"Only you can decide if you've passed. If you can accept the harsh reality of life as a shinobi, return here tomorrow at eight o'clock and we will move forward as a team. If not, return your forehead protector to the Academy and choose a different life for yourself."

While his team is left speechless, Itachi forms a quick hand seal – Ram – and disappears in a cloud of smoke.

* * *

_Of all the jounin sensei I could have been placed with, I get the one who's a giant asshole._

Naruto's thoughts are not pleasant as he makes his way through the bustling streets of Konoha. Hands stuffed in his pockets, eyes on the ground, mind replaying his first day as a part of a ninja team; he allows his feet to carry him to a familiar location, where he hopes to find something to take his mind off his asshole of a sensei. So lost in his thoughts is he that he almost walks past Ramen Ichiraku. The delicious odors wafting from the ramen stand draw him out of his reverie and pull him into a seat. The stand is otherwise empty, so he places his order with Teuchi and the old man sets to preparing it right away. He is on his second bowl when Iruka enters the small restaurant.

"Naruto! I thought I'd find you here."

Naruto chokes on his noodles as Iruka settles himself on the stool next to his former student. For a split second, as Naruto turns toward Iruka, he sees not the healthy, smiling face of his former sensei, but the paling, dying face of the illusion he had been subjected to. He manages to swallow the noodles lodged in his throat and give a broad smile to a concerned Iruka. Iruka's concern gives way to a small smile.

"What did I tell you about trying to eat so much at once?"

Naruto's response is garbled as he shovels another glob of noodles into his mouth. Iruka shakes his head and chuckles before ordering his own bowl from Teuchi.

"How was your first day as a genin?" Iruka asks as he waits on his order.

Naruto has already decided he's not going to tell Iruka – or anyone – about what happened today. He's afraid people will think he's weak, being so affected by an illusion.

"Okay, I guess."

"Just okay? I thought you would be more excited."

Naruto acts casual. "It's not like we did anything cool, just took some stupid test."

"You passed, at least?"

No question about that. Naruto knows where he'll be at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. "Of course! I worked hard to get this." He thumbs his forehead protector. "There's no way I'm going to lose it by failing some stupid test."

Teuchi sets a steaming bowl before Iruka. "Of course, of course." Iruka picks up his chopsticks and begins to eat. "What did you think of Itachi-sensei?"

Naruo's face darkens as he snatches up the last of his noodles. "He's an asshole."

"Naruto!" Iruka admonishes. "It's disrespectful to speak about your sensei like that."

"I can't help it if he's an asshole." Naruto orders another bowl of ramen, the well prepared cook already has a bowl ready.

"I thought you would be more excited to be placed with Itachi-sensei. You still want to be Hokage someday, don't you?"

"Of course!"

"Well, Itachi-sensei is the man many in the village believe will be the next Hokage. You could learn a lot from him."

Naruto frowns around his mouthful of ramen. "That asshole's going to be Hokage? No way."

"Stop using that word!"

After Naruto's fourth bowl of ramen – which Iruka graciously agreed to pay for – former sensei and former student walk the streets together in amicable silence. Without the distraction of ramen, Naruto finds his mind returning to the events of the morning. Against his better judgment – which he almost always finds himself ignoring – he blurts a question to Iruka.

"How many people have you lost, Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka casts a confused look down at his former student. "What do you mean, Naruto?"

Naruto scratches the back of his head. "I know being a shinobi is a hard job and sometimes people die on missions, I was just wondering if you've ever lost anyone important to you."

Iruka, still confused by the suddenness of Naruto's question, answers. "Well, there were my parents during the Kyuubi's attack, which you already know." Naruto cringes. "Both of my original genin squad mates died…" Iruka pauses and stares off into the distance. "There are others. Some whose names and faces I can barely remember. I don't really feel like going into detail…"

Iruka trails off and Naruto regrets asking the question. He regrets even more opening his mouth and asking his next question. "Do you ever regret it?"

"Becoming a shinobi?"

"Having friends."

Iruka stops dead in his tracks. Naruto stops after a few steps and turns to his former sensei. Iruka is watching him with an unreadable expression. Naruto tries to explain himself. "I just mean, if losing those friends is so painful, wouldn't it have been better to never have had friends in the first place? Wouldn't you be happier if you'd never had to deal with losing them?"

Iruka's heart breaks for his former student because he knows where these thoughts are coming from. He steps forward and places his hands on Naruto's shoulders, crouches down until he's eye level with the boy.

"I don't regret having those friends at all. It may have been painful losing them, but my life was better for having known them. I wouldn't be the man I am today if it weren't for the bonds of friendship I've formed throughout my life. Do you understand?"

Naruto nods slowly. "I think so. I don't have a lot of friends, but sometimes I think about how different I would be if I had never met you…and I realize that I probably wouldn't have liked myself very much. Lately, I've been thinking about what would happen to me if you died, and I don't know what I would do."

Iruka grins. It's a bit sad. "I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, Naruto, but if I did, I know you'd be okay. You're strong. That's the key to dealing with the deaths of the people precious to you: being strong, not for your own sake, but for the sake of those you've lost."

"And by being strong, I can fight to protect those important to me, so I won't lose them." It's more of a question than a statement, but at Iruka's encouraging nod, a smile blossoms on Naruto's face.

_Protecting one's precious people is easier said than done, _Iruka knows, _But if anyone can do it, you can, Naruto._

With the situation settled, sensei and student continue to walk together in amicable silence. The lingering doubts echoing in Naruto's mind from Itachi's genjutsu are silenced. He knows that he will never see the pale, dying Iruka in place of the healthy, living Iruka again. Even if Iruka actually dies, Naruto knows he will remember the sensei who taught him so much – in and out of the classroom – and not the corpse he leaves behind. Thinking back on Itachi-sensei's 'test,' Naruto almost laughs out loud.

The harsh reality of shinobi life?

_If that's what Itachi-sensei thinks life as a shinobi is like,_ Naruto thinks, _I'll just have to change his mind._

* * *

Sasuke's home is the house that silence built. His family sits down to dinner and the only sound is the clacking of utensils on plates. A battle is being fought, though, and typical of a shinobi home it is a silent battle. The battle is waged by his parents, their weapons are their faces. They shoot subtle facial expressions at each other, each having a meaning Sasuke has yet to figure out. The best Sasuke can understand is that there is something important his mother wants to speak about while his father doesn't. That usually means Itachi is the subject.

His parents never yell when he is in the house, preferring their silent fights because they believe he doesn't know they are fighting. He was fooled early in his childhood, but six years of ninja training and he has learned to see through their façade.

His mother notices him watching her and gives him a warm smile. "Sasuke-kun, please make sure Uzume eats her vegetables."

Sasuke turns to his three year old sister who is playing with what remains on her plate. "Uzume, eat your vegetables," he orders.

"Don't wanna."

"You have to. You can't awaken your Sharingan if you don't eat your vegetables."

His little sister scoffs, "Big brother eats his vegetables all the time."

Sasuke winces and cuts a look to his father who seems interested only in the food on his plate. Sasuke's failure to awaken his Sharingan has been a disappointment to his father. Itachi mastered his Sharingan at age eight. By the time he was Sasuke's age, Itachi was a member of ANBU. Sasuke finds himself being compared to Itachi a lot – not just by his father. Sometimes he comes out favorable in the comparison, but often times not.

"Don't be so childish, Uzume," Sasuke's mother says. "It takes time to awaken the Sharingan." She winks at Sasuke. "Time and nutritious vegetables, so eat up or I won't let you practice your shurikenjutsu with your brother after dinner."

Uzume begins to eat her vegetables. By the look on her face, it's an excruciating ordeal.

"So, Sasuke," his mother begins, "how was your day?"

His father makes a low sound in the back of his throat. Sasuke assumes that means he's lost the silent fight. Of course he wouldn't want to hear about Sasuke's first day as a genin. He doesn't want to hear about anything that involves Itachi.

"It was…" Sasuke drums his fingers on the table as he searches for the proper word. "…enlightening. Itachi trapped the entire team in a genjutsu to test our resolve."

"Oh my," says his mother.

"You were able to break out of it, I hope," says his father.

Sasuke hesitates before answering. He already knows his father's reaction. "Breaking the genjutsu wasn't the purpose of the test."

"That's a no, then." His father sounds disappointed. He always sounds disappointed. Sasuke was the top shinobi in his class and his father was disappointed he didn't graduate sooner.

Sasuke's mother shoots a look at her husband, the subtle facial expressions from before are gone. Without taking her eyes off her husband, she says, "Sasuke, why don't you and Uzume get an early start on shuriken practice."

It's not a suggestion and Uzume doesn't need to be told twice. She's up and away in an instant, ebony pigtails flailing in the air behind her. Sasuke spares a look at her plate as he rises from the table; more than half her vegetables remain. He follows after his little sister at a leisurely pace; the second he's out of the dining room his parents start up a fierce round of whispering. It's been a long time since his parents have gone more than a few days without having an argument. Sasuke remembers exactly how long: two years. It's the same amount of time that has passed since Itachi informed his parents he was moving out of the Uchiha compound.

When Sasuke arrives in the backyard, he finds his little sister has already set up the targets and retrieved the blunted practice shuriken – they're just sharp enough to stick in the targets. He watches her practice, gives her pointers when she needs them, and remembers the most horrifying image from the genjutsu Itachi had placed him under: Uzume hanging from a tree, a rope wrapped around her delicate little neck, her body swaying back and forth. An image he'll never forget, despite the fact that it was just an illusion.

"Hah! Can't beat that, big brother!"

Sasuke focuses on his little sister and the accomplishment that has her crowing. He sees that she has placed a shuriken within an inch of the bullseye, a lucky throw. Most of her practice shuriken litter the ground. She stands with her hands on her hips and a smile that splits her round face in two. Nonchalant, Sasuke draws a shuriken and flicks his wrist; the throwing star embeds dead center on the target.

"No way!"

Sasuke chuckles and watches as Uzume resumes practice with fervor. He wonders if Itachi knows what he saw while under the genjutsu, wonders if Itachi designed the genjutsu specifically so he would see it. The idea is unfathomable. How could an older brother concoct an image like that and force it on his younger brother? Itachi moved out of the Uchiha compound a year after Uzume was born for reasons that still haven't been explained to Sasuke, but he still displays affection towards their younger sister, so crafting such an image would be just as painful for him as it was for Sasuke.

Perhaps his affection for his little sister is waning. Perhaps a gulf is widening between the two, just as a gulf widened between Sasuke and Itachi, just as a gulf widened between Itachi and his girlfriend, his mother, his father, and the entire clan. Itachi pushes away everyone close to him, and as Sasuke sits and watches his sister try to best his accuracy just as he tried to best Itachi's when they were younger, he understands why. Itachi is afraid of losing those close to him, so he pushes everyone away. His genjutsu test was an attempt to inspire the same actions in his team.

_If that is the true purpose of his test, _Sasuke thinks, _then I have already failed._

* * *

He will never push his little sister away, nor will he push away his mother or father, or Naruto and Sakura – even if they do annoy the hell out of him.

He's always being compared to his older brother. The phrase, 'You're just like your brother,' has been said to him many times, having both positive and negative connotations. In this aspect though, he knows that he will never be like his brother.

Sakura passes Yamanaka Flowers on her way home. Her thoughts turn to Ino's bloated corpse floating in a pond. She hurries by with her eyes on the ground. When her mother asks her about her day, she avoids looking at her and tells her everything went fine. Not looking at her does nothing to stop the image of her nailed to a tree by kunai. Her father arrives just before dinner; he receives the same answer as her mother when he asks about her day. Her efforts to not picture his decapitated body are in vain. They eat dinner as a family. Afterwards, her father asks her if she wants to play a game. She declines and chooses to go to bed early.

She lies in bed awake. Every time she closes her eyes her parents die. Over breakfast, her mother asks her if she slept well, concern written across her face. Sakura tells her that she was too excited to sleep. Her father has already left; he has an important mission today. For the first time ever, Sakura worries about whether he'll make it back. The clock approaches seven as she leaves her house. She pauses in the streets before turning in the direction of the Academy.

At seven-thirty, she stands outside the Academy.

"Sakura?" Iruka notices her as he makes his way to his workplace. "Is something wrong?"

She never lied to Iruka when he was her sensei. She doesn't start now. "No. Nothing is wrong."

She turns and makes her way to the training grounds. She's going to be late.

It's eight-fifteen when she arrives at training ground forty-four. Naruto and Sasuke are already there, standing with Itachi-sensei.

"You waited for me," she observes as she joins her team.

Naruto gives her his biggest smile. "We knew you'd show up."

Sakura smiles in return. It's weak.

"Very well," Itachi begins, "Let's-"

"Hold on," Naruto interrupts. "I've got something to say to you!" He adjusts his forehead protector – it glints in the sunlight – and crosses his arms. "I don't give a damn what you say about the harsh reality of shinobi life, I'm the man who's going to be the next Hokage, and I'll do anything to protect the people precious to me."

Itachi raises an eyebrow.

There is a curve to Sasuke's lips. "For once, I agree with Naruto. I'm not naïve, I know people in my life are going to die, but I'll die before I let anything happen to my family."

Itachi turns his impassive eyes on Sakura. She returns his stoic gaze with one of her own, green eyes ringed in dark circles. After a moment, she speaks.

"I hate you."

Naruto's jaw drops, Sasuke's eyes widen.

Itachi nods. "Very well, let's begin."


	2. Chapter 2

**Team Itachi  
**Chapter 2

* * *

Sakura stands on the roof of a three story building; from here she can see up and down one of Konoha's main thoroughfares. At this time of day it is packed with pedestrians. The sun sinks behind her, fat and yellow, painting the sky orange. Her long, pink hair is tied into a pony tail, the wind rustles her red dress, and in her hands she holds a bow and arrow. Her sharp, green eyes cast their gaze down the street below, searching.

Down in the street, blocks away, Sasuke stalks his brother. Itachi is a few paces ahead, walking at a casual pace, dressed in navy blue and the green flak jacket of his station. Sasuke puts little effort into going unnoticed, knowing that even on his best day there is no way he can follow Itachi without the elite shinobi noticing. Shadows flit across rooftops bordering the street; Naruto's shadow clones are doing just as bad a job of stealthily following Itachi as Sasuke.

A young shinobi with his nose buried in a scroll bumps into Itachi. He drops his scroll and apologizes profusely as Itachi bends to pick it up for him. The good samaritan returns the scroll and the clumsy shinobi thanks him with a pat on the back before continuing on his way. Sasuke knows this young, nondescript shinobi is one of Naruto's shadow clones under the transformation technique; he's sure Itachi knows as well. He avoids eye contact with the young shinobi as they pass in the street. He focuses instead on the strip of reflective tape the young shinobi placed on Itachi's back, dead center on the whirlpool symbol of his flak jacket.

On her rooftop, Sakura sees the glinting of the reflective tape as it catches the light of the setting sun. She hefts her bow and readies her arrow, pulling the bowstring back until it reaches her ear. One eye closed, she licks her lips and aims her shot. She calculates the proper angle, compensating for the wind, distance and speed at which Itachi is walking. She takes a deep breath, holds, then releases.

The arrow flies.

It arcs over the busy street, over the heads of unsuspecting civilians, whistling through the air as it closes the gap between Itachi and itself. Sakura's aim is true; Itachi walks into the path of the arrow. Sasuke clenches his fists, Sakura drops her bow and picks up the binoculars at her feet, the arrow comes within arm's reach of punching a hole in the back of Itachi's flak jacket.

Itachi comes to a stop; his head snaps around, his arm flies, his hand closes around the arrow's shaft and halts its flight. Sasuke ducks behind a civilian who has stopped to gape at Itachi. His brother's sharp eyes follow him, taking his attention off the arrow.

The arrow explodes into a cloud of smoke. Orange clad arms shoot out and latch onto Itachi's arm before he can pull away. The smoke dissipates, revealing blonde hair, blue eyes and a wide smile. One of Naruto's feet hits the ground, he pivots and buries the other into Itachi's midsection. Itachi doesn't flinch.

Naruto jumps away from his sensei, adopting a taijutsu stance, grinning like a madman. His stance is more showy than practical; traffic on the street has come to a stop to watch the proceedings. Itachi's eyes flit from Naruto to Sasuke, then to the distant form of Sakura.

"Good job." He doesn't sound particularly impressed. "Inform Sakura that we will be accepting our first C-rank mission tomorrow after our morning training session."

Itachi turns and resumes walking down the street. The crowd of onlookers disperses. Naruto throws his hands in the air and whoops. Sasuke allows himself a grin as Naruto thumps him on the back. Blocks away, Sakura lowers her binoculars, grabs her bow and drops into the street with a smile.

* * *

The three genin of Team Itachi spent weeks planning the assault on their sensei, the majority of which was carried out during lunch and dinner, the only time they had which wasn't occupied by training, D-rank missions or sleep. Having grown accustomed to eating together, they met for lunch the day after their successful assault – after their morning training session.

"Another!" Naruo demands, slamming his empty bowl of ramen on the bar. It was his turn to pick the restaurant. Teuchi and his daughter scramble behind the bar. The two are well practiced at keeping up with Naruto's appetite, but today they find themselves struggling.

"Naruto, maybe you should slow down." Sakura's own bowl is barely touched. "You've already eaten a lot, even by your own standards."

"Gotta fuel up for the big mission!" Naruto watches the old man and his daughter prepare his bowl with hungry eyes. When they set the steaming meal before him, he attacks it.

"You're not going to be any good on the mission if you're too stuffed with food to do anything," Sasuke mutters, swirling his noodles around in his bowl.

Naruto's retort is garbled.

Sasuke rolls his eyes and eats the rest of his lunch. Sakura scoots to a stool away from Naruto to avoid the splash zone. After another bowl, Naruto is satisfied and the team leaves the restaurant and makes for the mission assignment desk.

Naruto is skipping through the streets. "What do you think our first real mission will be? I bet it's something awesome."

Sasuke shrugs. "Whatever it is, there's no way it can be worse than a D-rank mission."

Her thoughts elsewhere, Sakura walks with her eyes on the ground. Her voice comes out small. "We'll probably have to leave the village."

Sasuke hears what's left unsaid: leaving the village means the possibility of never returning. The three genin never spoke of what they saw under the influence of Itachi's genjutsu – not to each other – but there's no doubt in Sasuke's mind that Sakura felt the effects of the genjutsu more than Naruto or himself, that she continues to be affected by it.

"Yeah, it'll be awesome." Naruto is oblivious. "I've never been outside the village before. I bet we see some cool stuff, maybe there'll even be strong enemies to fight!"

"Whatever we face out there, it'll be nothing Itachi can't handle." Sasuke shoots a look at Sakura. She avoids his eyes.

Naruto scoffs, "Like we'll need him. We've been training so hard we'll kick the ass of anything or anyone that gets in our way." Naruto shoots a look of his own at Sakura. "Isn't that right, Sakura-chan?"

The ghost of a smile graces Sakura's lips as she nods. Sasuke wonders if maybe Naruto isn't as oblivious as he thought.

The three genin arrive at the Administration Building, tucked away under the shadow of the Hokage Monument. Naruto shades his eyes and gazes up at the village monument, tracing the details of every stone face, imagining his own up there. He brings his eyes earthward and spares a quick glance to each of his teammates before dashing for the Administration Building's door. Sasuke and Sakura share a look they've grown accustomed to sharing at the antics of their teammate.

Sasuke makes to follow his hyperactive teammate at the pace of a normal human being, but stops when Sakura catches his arm. He turns to find her digging in her tool pouch with her free hand; she presents him with a neatly rolled scroll and a bashful smile.

"I forgot to give this to you yesterday," she explains. "It's the bow you lent me for the mission. I thought you would want it back."

Sasuke treats the scroll to a nonchalant wave of his hand. "Keep it. You're better with it than I am."

Sasuke pulls away from Sakura and continues on toward the doors of the Administration Building, which have been blown open by Naruto. Sakura clutches the scroll to her chest and watches Saskue's back as he walks away with a blush in her cheeks. Her heart flutters.

* * *

Naruto's arms are crossed, his sandaled foot beats an impatient rhythm against the ground. Behind him loom the walls of Konoha; before him – parked just outside the city gates – stands a train of wagons filled to the brim with an assortment of goods. Konoha gate guards comb through the wagons, searching for illegal content.

"This sucks," Naruto groans. "Can we just go already?"

Sasuke can't roll his eyes any harder. This isn't the first time Naruto has asked this question, hopefully it will be the last. "We can't leave until they finish searching the wagons."

"I know, I know," Naruto says, exasperated. "I just wish they would hurry the hell up. If the old man was trying to smuggle stuff out of the village they would have found it by now, right?"

"It's their job to be thorough," Sakura explains, suppressing a yawn. Waking up early to prepare for the mission followed by hours of standing around doing nothing while the gate guards search the wagons has left her nearly asleep on her feet.

"What would the old man smuggle out of the village anyway?" Naruto wonders aloud. "He's a fat, old merchant, not a rival shinobi."

A throat clears, the three genin turn to find their fat, old client approaching, shadowed by Itachi. His bald head gleams with sweat, he produces a handkerchief from the sleeve of his colorful silk robes to dab at his brow.

"You children will be happy to know that we will be getting under way soon," the man says with barely hidden disdain, nose held high. He turns to Itachi. "I hope you'll see to it that they're ready, Itachi-san."

"Of course, Enomoto-sama," Itachi says with a low bow. Enomoto, pleased with Itachi's deference, leaves the shinobi team to their business to oversee the readiness of his wagons. Itachi turns to his team, stoic as always.

"When the wagons move out, I will take point at the head of the train. Sasuke, I want you protecting the right flank, Sakura, the left. Naruto, you'll be the rearguard. Any questions?"

"Why am I in the back?"

"We'll be traveling with Enomoto's trade caravan to Hitoshi, the capital city of the Land of Fire. With the speed at which the wagons travel, including stops to trade at villages along the way, it will take us close to a month to reach our destination. I hope you all packed accordingly." At his last statement, Itachi directs a significant glance at Naruto.

"Hey, what's with that look?" Naruto asks, defensive. "I know how to pack."

Itachi shifts his gaze to Sasuke, who nods. "We double-checked."

"Good." Itachi glances over his shoulder. Enomoto stands at the head of his wagon train, waving in an attempt to gain the attention of his hires. "Take your positions, stay disciplined, stay focused, and if anyone attempts to attack the wagons don't try to take them on by yourself. This is a C-rank mission, so nothing worse than bandits is expected, but that's no reason to get sloppy. Understood?"

Naruto's shout in the affirmative overpowers that of his teammates, he dashes to his assigned position. Within minutes, all of Team Itachi is at their stations and the wagon train rumbles along the road away from Konoha.

Hours later, when the sun is setting and Konoha is nothing more than a spot on the horizon, Naruto finds himself more bored than he ever thought possible. He sits on the roof of the last wagon in the train, legs dangling, chin resting in his hand. His eyes lazily search his surroundings: farm land as far as the eye can see. Bored as he is, he's still a shinobi, and if his job is to keep a lookout for an attack then that's what he'll do.

One of Enomoto's personal guards, a grizzled, middle aged man wearing salvaged bits of armor and a sword that looks older than Naruto, peers up at the genin, grinning.

"Not as glamorous as you thought your first mission would be, kid?"

"Hell no!" A thought occurs. "What the hell does the old man need us for when he's got guys like you?"

The guard is frowning now. "_Enomoto-sama_ believes the roads are getting more dangerous, so he thought it would be smart to hire shinobi to provide extra security. Apparently, you kids were the best he could get."

Naruto doesn't care enough to rise to the insult. "So you're not a shinobi?"

The guard faces forward, talks without looking back. "I tried to be, when I was young. My parents were farmers, but I always dreamed of being a shinobi, so they saved up the money to send me to Konoha. I enrolled in the Academy, but I just didn't have the stuff, failed my final exam three times before they finally just kicked me out. I sure as hell didn't want to be a farmer, so I picked up a sword and did whatever I could to earn money. There's a big demand out there for a man with a sword and a willingness to fight, even if he isn't a shinobi."

"That sucks." Naruto shifts to his side and lies on the roof of the wagon with his head propped on his fist. He catches a glare from the guard and explains, "Failing out of the Academy, I mean. I almost failed. I did fail, actually. I only got this," he thumbs his forehead protector, "because of special circumstances."

The guard huffs. "Weren't no special circumstances that could get me a forehead protector. I was awful."

Naruto waves off the guard's pessimism. "That's what they used to say about me. They called me the Dead Last because I was ranked last in every possible category." Naruto scratches the back of his head. "Some people still call me that, actually…but I'll prove them all wrong in the end. I'm going to be Hokage someday."

"Hokage?" The guard chuckles. "The day a kid like you becomes Hokage is the day I go back to the Academy to earn my forehead protector."

Naruto pops to his feet and stretches. He flashes the guard a cheeky grin. "How about this, old man: when I become Hokage, I'll _give_ you a forehead protector."

The guard tosses his head back and laughs. "If you become Hokage, I'll gladly accept that forehead protector…right after I climb up the Hokage Mounument and carve your face into the stone with my bare hands."

Naruto builds himself up for a big retort, but is distracted when shouts carry from the head of the wagon train, echoed by other of Enomoto's guards stationed along the length of the train. Naruto's eyes light up, he searches for something – anything. The grizzled guard chuckles.

"Don't wet yourself, kid. They're just giving the signal to stop and set up camp."

Naruto sighs.

Camp is set up in an empty field just off the road. The four shinobi draw lots for watch duty shifts. Enomoto's six personal guards, initially threatened by the idea of having their jobs taken over by shinobi, make loud comments about getting a good night's sleep while the three genin plan out their sleeping schedules around their watch duties. Itachi draws the first shift and gets to an early start, prowling about camp and watching for opportunistic bandits while the sky blackens and his team eats their dinner around a fire. Dinner passes amicably; hours of walking with nothing but the creaking of wagon wheels for companionship has left the three genin starved for conversation.

With dinner eaten, Sasuke decides to direct the conversation to the mission at hand. He leans forward – the flickering flames of the fire cast shifting shadows across his face – and speaks in a low voice.

"What do you think of Enomoto's guards?"

Sakura's eyes flick to the fire across camp where Enomoto dines with his guards. "They seem nice enough to me," she says. Her voice lowers as she continues, "None of them are shinobi though, so I don't think they'd be any help if we ran into any trouble."

Sasuke nods. "That's what I was thinking. They'll probably just get in our way if things get serious."

"The guy I talked to went to the Academy," Naruto says. "He didn't graduate, but if he's had some shinobi training he should be able to hold his own."

Sakura's eyes gain a curious light. "He went to the Academy but didn't graduate? That's interesting."

Naruto shrugs. "Not really."

Green eyes shoot a halfhearted glare Naruto's way. "It's interesting to me, idiot. What happens to people who fail the Academy? You never hear about them." She pauses and looks deep into the fire. "I wonder what they do with their lives."

Naruto leans back and laces his hands behind his head, gazing up at the stars. "They probably just get boring jobs, like merchants or guards."

"Thinking about it just makes me wonder," Sakura says. She draws her knees up to her chest, doesn't move her eyes away from the fire. "What would I be if I weren't a shinobi?"

Silence greets her rhetorical question, she draws her eyes away from the fire to find Naruto staring at the stars and Sasuke staring into the ground. The looks on their faces tell her that this train of thought is hers and hers alone. Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto never contemplate being anything other than shinobi. They weren't fazed by Itachi's genjutsu, not like Sakura. She had thought about turning in her forehead protector. There were a million other things she could do with her life, she figured. No one ever said she had to be a shinobi.

She hadn't done it, though, and she doesn't know why.

"I would probably be a ramen chef," Naruto says, idly. Sakura turns to him, eyebrows furrowed. Naruto meets her confusion with a grin. "If I weren't a shinobi," he clarifies. "But I wouldn't be just any ramen chef, I'd be the best ramen chef in the village, in the whole world!"

Sasuke smirks. "You'd eat all your product."

Naruto laughs. "Well, yeah, that's the point."

"So why did you choose to be a shinobi instead of a ramen chef," Sakura presses. "Or anything?"

Naruto regards her with curiosity written across his face. "What do you mean?"

"Why did you choose to be a shinobi when you could have done anything else with your life?" Naruto looks even more confused at her clarification. Sakura lets out a frustrated growl. "It's a simple question, Naruto. There has to be a reason why you chose to be a shinobi."

"I guess I don't have a reason." Naruto seems sorry for not being able to satisfactorily answer Sakura's question for her. "I'm a shinobi because I want to be one." He shrugs. "I guess that's my reason."

Sakura, flabbergasted, turns to Sasuke hoping to find sanity. What she finds instead is agreement written across the Uchiha's face. Defeated, she decides to drop the line of questioning and never pick it up again. Her teammates aren't going to help her understand why she chose to become a shinobi when they don't understand why they became shinobi themselves.

The shadows cast by their fire shift and Itachi appears, saving Sakura from having to change the subject. The thought of asking her sensei why he became a shinobi never crosses her mind. She avoids meeting his eyes as he joins his team next to the fire. When he speaks, his voice comes out low.

"It's time we discussed the true purpose of our mission."

Naruto sits up and leans forward, Sasuke raises an eyebrow.

"During the inspection, the gate guards discovered a stash of weapons forged by Konoha blacksmiths hidden in one of Enomoto's wagons. It appears he intends to sell them illegally."

"He's a merchant." Naruto points out the obvious. "It's not illegal for him to sell weapons, is it?"

It's Sasuke who answers. "It is if they were forged by Konoha blacksmiths."

Sasuke's explanation leaves Naruto looking even more confused. Sakura steps in to fill in the gaps.

"Every hidden village has its own village blacksmiths," she says. "The village blacksmiths are trained in their village's secret weapon making techniques. Because the techniques are supposed to be secret, it is illegal for weapons made by a village blacksmith to be sold outside of the village."

"It's more tradition than anything," Sasuke adds. "No one really cares about weapon making techniques getting out except maybe the blacksmiths themselves, and that's only to protect their jobs."

Naruto scratches the back of his head, wondering where his teammates had learned this bit of knowledge and why they had bothered to learn it. "So, it's not that big of a deal then?"

"It is still illegal," Itachi says, "And it's much more likely that he will be selling the weapons to missing-nin or bandits instead of to another hidden village."

"Why didn't the gate guards apprehend Enomoto when they discovered the weapons?" Sakura asks.

"They wanted to," Itachi answers, "but I thought it would be prudent to discover who he is selling his weapons to before arresting him."

Sasuke nods slowly, comprehending. "So, we keep an eye on Enomoto under the guise of protecting his trade caravan, find out who he's selling his weapons to-"

"And kick their asses!" Naruto cuts in, punching his palm.

Itachi levels an impassive stare at his excited student. "No. This is strictly a reconnaissance mission. Once we discover who Enomoto is selling his weapons to we will send word back to Konoha so that the Hokage can dispatch a team to deal with the situation."

Naruto frowns. "Just when I thought things were getting interesting."

Itachi ignores his sullen student. "It is most likely that Enomoto will try to sell his weapons in Hitoshi, since that is where we will be parting ways with him. It is possible, however, that he will meet his buyer somewhere else along the way, so it is important that we stay vigil and keep an eye on him and his employees at all times. Understood?"

The team's silent chorus in the affirmative goes unnoticed by Enomoto.


	3. Chapter 3

**Team Itachi  
**Chapter 3

* * *

Naruto wakes to a darkness punctuated by the flickering light of wall mounted torches. Blue eyes blink slowly, adjusting to the darkness. Like remembering a dream, he pieces together his scattered memory:

He remembers practicing the tree walking exercise with Sasuke after dinner; Sakura had gone back to camp with Itachi to keep an eye on Enomoto and learn a new technique, a gift for being the first to master tree walking. While resting in a branch halfway up his tree, Naruto had spied a group of bandits moving through the forest towards Enomoto's camp. He managed to convince Sasuke that they could take the bandits on without sending to Itachi for help; they were just bandits after all, not shinobi.

Except shinobi had been hidden amongst the bandit ranks, two that Naruto could remember: one from Kusa and another from Iwa. Naruto and Sasuke had quickly found themselves overmatched and had fled, but the Iwa shinobi had used an earth technique to drag Naruto underground. The last thing he remembers seeing before earth swallowed his vision was Sasuke dodging the same technique and disappearing into the shadows of the forest.

Naruto sits up, reaches for his kunai holster and finds it missing along with his tool pouch. A quick survey of his surroundings reveals stone floors, stone walls and a door made of thick steel bars. He's on his feet, hands wrapped around the door's bars, shaking and pulling in vain; the door doesn't give an inch. Frowning, he steps away from the door and forms his favorite handseal; if one Naruto can't pry the door open, maybe a dozen will have more luck.

His attempt to mold chakra for the shadow clone technique – a practice that has become second nature – fails. He feels a sensation he's never felt before, like his chakra is just on the other side of a wall so close that he can feel it radiating from the other side, but the wall is too thick for him to burst through, too tall for him to climb over. Eyes clenched shut, face straining with effort, he tries again, but the result is the same.

"Give it up, kid, you look constipated."

Naruto's eyes snap open to see a man standing just outside the door to his cell; his long, grey hair is pulled back into a pony tail that reaches the small of his back, his face is lined with age and his eyes are dark as coal. He wears old armor, the kind Naruto remembers seeing in history books.

The impulsive blonde shinobi wastes no time rushing forward. His arm flies through the gap between the bars of his cell's door; his clenched fist comes within an inch of striking the older man in the chin. With his hand thrust into the torch light, Naruto notices for the first time the ink marring the back of his hand. He pulls his hand back and pushes the sleeve of his orange jacket up, tracing the ink all the way up his arm and onto his chest where it forms a circle over his heart, converging with three other lines trailing from his other arm and his legs.

"The hell is this?" Naruto asks with a glare at his captor.

"A seal," the man says, arms crossed over his chest. "It will suppress your chakra usage."

A grow rumbles in Naruto's throat, he stalks up to the cell door and glares through the bars at the man; the man meets his glare with an impassiveness to rival Itachi. A million questions bounce around Naruto's skull, and they all come tumbling out in a heated rage.

"Who the hell are you? Why the hell did you kidnap me? Where the hell are my teammates? What kind of coward uses a chakra suppression seal? Where the hell-"

"I'm going to stop you right there," the man says, holding up a hand. "I understand that you're angry, that's a reaction I get a lot. The important thing for you to understand is that, no matter how scared or angry you are right now, no matter how much you hate me, everything I've done is for your own benefit." The man leans forward, his impassiveness melts into a glare. Despite his anger, his voice remains clam. "And don't you ever call me a coward."

Naruto meets the man's glare with blue eyes as cold as ice. His hand lashes out, through the bars, but once again he comes up short. The man steps away from the cell and places his hands behind his back, impassive as before.

"My name is Uchiha Hattori and, based on the registration card I found in your belongings, your name is Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto's glare intensifies. "Now that we've been properly introduced, I hope we can be civil to one another because while the situation you're in seems bad, glaring at me isn't going to make it any better."

"When I get out of here, I'm going to beat the shit out of you."

Hattori sighs. "I'm sure you'll try. That's the problem, don't you see? All you kids running around all hot-blooded, trying to take on anything that stands in your way without any regard for whether you're ready. It's not your fault, though; it's just how you were raised. It's what was forced on you by your village. I'm trying to save you from that."

Naruto's glare gives way to confusion. "Save me?"

Hattori nods. "From yourself. From the world you've entered but don't understand. I'm trying to save you from a life of strife, of war and death. From things a young kid like you couldn't possibly understand."

"What the hell are you talking about, old man?"

"You've never fought in a war, kid, but I have. You don't know what it's like to charge onto a battlefield and face your enemy while your comrades are dying in droves around you. There's no class in the Academy that teaches you how to deal with that." Hattori pauses, his eyes meet the ground. When he speaks next it is in a near whisper. "I was a genin during the Second Great War, graduated before I was ready because the war effort needed fresh bodies. The things I saw…I'd do anything to stop that from happening to another young shinobi." He looks up and meets Naruto's eyes, but Naruto gets the feeling Hattori's looking through him at something far behind him. "You'll thank me one day, kid. You're mad now, but one day, when war engulfs this continent and everyone you used to know throws their life away for nothing, you'll thank me for saving you. You'll all thank me."

Naruto steps away from the cell door, eyebrows knit into a confused line. "You're crazy."

Hattori laughs. "The one who's trying to save children from the ravages of war is crazy? I suppose that means the ones turning kids into soldiers are the sane ones, right?" The laughter dies in his throat and he sighs. "The truth is, when you get as old as me, you realize we're all a little crazy. We have to be to live in this world."

Naruto scratches the back of his head, still regarding Hattori with a confused expression. "You kind of remind me of Itachi-sensei. He tried to warn me about the 'harsh reality of shinobi life' and all that crap, but he's not as crazy about it as you are. He acts like the world is full of nothing but death too, but instead of trying to hide us from it he trains us hard to prepare for it."

"It doesn't matter how hard you train, kid."

"That's the only thing that matters!" Naruto presses his face against the bars of his cell, once again leveling Hattori with a glare. His hands are wrapped around the bars in a white knuckled grip. "I'm not going to sit here and rot away in a cell, trying to avoid the reality of life. I'm not a coward like you." Hattori's eye twitches. Naruto continues, uncaring. "I'm going to get out of here, I'm going to kick your ass, I'm going to train hard, I'm going to become the best Hokage Konoha has ever seen, and I'll never allow anyone I care about to die!"

Hattori is taken back for a moment. Slowly, a smile forms on his face and a breathy chuckle escapes through his nose. "Hokage, huh? I guess no one ever told you this, so I will: you don't become Hokage without losing people along the way. You think becoming Hokage means being strong enough to protect the people you care about, but what it really means is being strong enough to survive, while all those weaker than you die, especially those you care about."

"That may be what being Hokage means to a coward like you, but-"

Hattori moves quicker than Naruto can follow; his hand shoots through the gaps between the bars and grips Naruto's neck. Naruto pries at the man's hands, gasping for breath, staring into his livid eyes, which are alight with the crimson power of the Sharingan. After a moment, Hattori releases his grip and backs away from the cell door, taking deep breaths. Naruto backs away from the door holding his sore neck, glaring.

"Like I said," Hattori says, looking at his hands. "We're all a little crazy. Some more than others." After a moment of silence, he looks up. "I'll see you later, Naruto-kun. I have a feeling your teammates will be joining you soon."

Naruto rushes to the door as Hattori turns and walks away. For the first time, he notices that outside his cell is a hallway lined with cells, and within the shadows of those cells barely distinguishable shapes move. He wonders just how many young shinobi Hattori has captured. At the end of the hall, where a set of stairs is just barely visible, Hattori meets with a man and converses with him in tones that don't carry to Naruto's cell. The man nods and Hattori disappears up the stairs.

The man paces down the hall to Naruto's cell. As he nears, Naruto sees that he's young, around Itachi's age, and he's wearing a forehead protector from Iwa. His plain face strikes a chord in Naruto's memory.

"You're the asshole who drug me underground and captured me."

The Iwa shinobi nods. Naruto grins.

"When I get out of here, you're going to be the first one I beat up."

* * *

The sunlight of an early morning fights to burn through the settling fog. The high, cracked wall circling the bandit occupied fort is just barely visible to the naked eye from the copse of trees that shelters Sakura and Sasuke. Sasuke peers through the lens of a monocular, observing the portion of the wall nearest to them: it is patrolled by two bandits, each wearing cracked and rusty armor, each carrying a sword sheathed at their side. Lowering the monocular, Sasuke turns to face Sakura, who meets his gaze with trepidation.

"I can make the shot," she tries to assure him, but she doesn't sound sure of herself.

"At this distance? Through the fog?" Sasuke shakes his head. "It's too risky. You could maybe take one of them down, but then the other would notice. And if you miss it might give away our position. You're going to have to go up the wall."

Sakura turns away from her teammate, her hands clench the red fabric of her dress.

"I would do it myself," Sasuke says, "but I haven't mastered tree climbing yet. I don't think I'd be able to make it halfway up before falling down." Sakura refuses to meet his eyes. Sasuke wishes Naruto were here, he'd find a way to get Sakura motivated. "It'll be easy," he continues. "Quick and quiet, over the wall, use the poisoned weapons and they'll be out before they know you're there."

"Can't we wait for Itachi's distraction?"

Sasuke knows she knows the answer to her own question. "Itachi wants us in the fort before he starts his distraction. Things will be chaotic once he starts beating on the gates, it might be even harder to get in."

Sakura closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, then nods. Without even a glance at Sasuke, she hops from the branch of the tree she's been squatting on and creeps towards the edge of the copse. Adjusting the length of rope wound diagonally around her torso, she readies herself. There are a couple dozen yards of fog shrouded grass separating her and the wall of the fort. The fog will cover her approach, but it won't make her invisible.

Another deep breath.

Sasuke, peering through his monocular, gives her the signal.

Silent feet carry her across the field of grass; her eyes never leave the top of the wall, which grows ever visible as she nears. She can just make out the two bandits atop the wall; their patrol has left them with their backs facing each other, their eyes away from the field. A leap carries her through the air and she hits the wall running, channeling the necessary amount of chakra through her feet. The ramparts of the wall grow closer, her heart pounds so loud she can feel it in her clenched jaw.

She clears the ramparts, buries her hands in her tool pouch and draws two handful of senbon; the poison coating the needles causes her fingertips to tingle. She's come up between the two bandits, each still with their backs to the other. Her hands fly, the needles embed in the backs and necks of the bandits, between the cracks of their near ancient armor. The bandits' attempts to shout, pull the senbon out, or turn and face their attacker die as the fast acting poison takes effect and they find themselves falling to the ground, paralyzed.

Sakura lets out the breath she's been holding, thankful that Itachi's assumption had been right. Had these bandits been shinobi of any caliber they would have been able to fight the effects of the poison. She drops from the ramparts and unwinds the rope from her torso, ties it off on one of the ramparts and tosses it over the side of the wall. A dark shape, barely visible through the fog, darts out from the copse of trees and makes its way to the wall.

A scroll is produced from the tool pouch at her hip, she unfurls it with a flick of her wrist and a pulse of chakra activates the seal scribbled within. A puff of smoke heralds the unsealing of her bow and a quiver of arrows. By the time Sasuke pulls himself up the rope, Sakura has the quiver on her back and holds the bow in her hand with a blunted arrow ready.

"Ready?" he asks, sparing a quick glance at the bodies of the downed bandits.

Sakura nods. Sasuke forms a quick handseal, takes in a deep breath of air and breathes out a small stream of fire, lighting the tip of Sakura's arrow. She shoots the arrow high into sky, the signal for Itachi to begin his part of the plan: an assault on the fort's front gate, a diversion to draw most of the bandits – and hopefully, Uchiha Hattori himself – to Itachi and make the job of rescuing Naruto easier on his students.

Soon enough, an explosion rocks the opposite end of the fort; Sasuke and Sakura duck behind the ramparts. All around the fort bandits leave their stations, picking up weapons and strapping on bits of armor, pouring out of buildings all throughout the fort and hurrying to the sound of the explosion. Sakura peeks over the ramparts and watches the bandits move about below her, hoping that somewhere in that mass of people is Uchiha Hattori, off to do battle with Itachi as far away from her and Sasuke as possible.

When the last stragglers have readied themselves and run off to do battle with the enemy at the gate, Sasuke retrieves his monocular and surveys the fort. The fort is comprised of three dilapidated buildings, one of which would be tall enough to stand over the fort's walls if its top floors hadn't collapsed long ago. The other two buildings are smaller and in slightly better shape, with cracked, red tiled roofing and slate gray walls.

"Itachi said Naruto would be in the most heavily guarded building," Sakura whispers.

Sasuke nods. "I see it."

He hands the monocular to Sakura and points to the smallest of three buildings, the least dilapidated and the only building without windows. Two naginata carrying bandits guard the building's only door while a third holds watch from the rooftop with a bow in hand. The two at the door look nervous, perhaps torn between staying at their posts and rushing off to fight with their comrades. The door to the building opens and a man steps out. His long hair is more grey than black and pulled into a pony tail, his grey armor – while old – is in better shape than that of his subordinates, the hilt of a katana pokes over his shoulder.

"I think I see him," Sakura says, "Uchiha Hattori."

Sasuke snatches the monocular from her. He holds it to his eye for the briefest of seconds before cursing and dropping below the ramparts, pulling Sakura with him.

"He looked this way."

Sakura's breath catches in her throat. "Did he see us?"

"I don't think so."

A minute stretches into eternity as the two genin wait. Sakura's mind races with all the information she'd gleaned from Itachi's briefing on Hattori. He is an experienced, A-rank missing-nin wanted for his connection to the disappearances of close to a dozen young shinobi. Itachi himself had been part of a team assigned to track down Hattori over a year ago, which was why when Sasuke had come running out of the forest and described Naruto's kidnapping, Itachi knew exactly who they were dealing with.

As Sakura hides behind the ramparts – eyes clenched, heart racing – she wonders again why Itachi doesn't storm the fort and rescue Naruto himself. She knows the answer, of course. Even with his high level stealth skills, the possibility of discovery still exists if Itachi attempts to infiltrate the fort. If discovered by Hattori, Itachi would be pressed into battle, and a battle between shinobi of such a high caliber would lead to collateral damage which would put Hattori's captives at risk. It makes sense, but that doesn't mean Sakura likes it.

When Uchiha Hattori doesn't appear to drag them off to the same dungeon where he's keeping Naruto, Sasuke chances a glance over the ramparts with the monocular.

"He's gone." Sakura breathes a sigh of relief. "Those three guards are still there. It looks like they're the only ones who didn't bite on Itachi's distraction." Sasuke puts the monocular away and faces Sakura. "We'll have to move in and take them down quietly. We don't know how many more are inside and we don't want to alert them to our presence. Ready?"

* * *

After blowing the gates open with a suitably attention-grabbing fire technique, Itachi is content to wait just outside the fort's wall as bandits pour from every corner, lining the top of the wall with bows and arrows, rushing through the ruined gate with swords and pole-arms at the ready. The challenge in their eyes dies when they see his forehead protector; they take a collective step back when they see the crimson power that lights his eyes.

"I've come for my student and any others you may be holding against their will," Itachi states in an imposing baritone. "I have no desire to kill any of you, but I will cut through any who stand in my way."

One bandit, a brash young man, does not give in to Itachi's intimidation. He charges with his sword raised, a berserker's scream ripping from his throat. No doubt, he hopes to inspire his comrades to action. A lazy backhand knocks the sword from his hands, a knee drilled into his midsection doubles him over and he slides to the ground. Itachi brings his heel down on the back of the collapsed bandit's head, thrusting him into unconsciousness.

The rest of the bandits look as if they're ready to throw down their arms and flee. A voice floats from behind them, strengthening their resolve.

"Does it make you feel like a big man picking on those weaker than you?" The crowd parts to make way for a man in grey steel armor. His grey hair and the lines on his face make him look older than Itachi expected. Itachi meets Hattori's glaring crimson eyes with his own. Hattori shows no surprise at meeting another of his clan.

"How did it make you feel to kidnap my student?"

"Kidnap? I'm trying to _save_ him."

"I know all about your misguided intentions."

Hattori's mouth forms a flat line. "Do you? Have tales of my exploits reached Konoha? Did my former village send a team of children to hunt me down?"

"We were unaware you were operating so near to Konoha. You could have avoided my attention entirely had you not chosen to kidnap my student."

A rolling laugh tumbles from Hattori's lips, the bandits behind him follow suit with a titter of nervous laughter. "Avoid your attention? And why would I go so far as to avoid the attention of some kid?"

Itachi tilts his head to the side. "Do you not know who I am?"

"Some punk kid in over his head?"

"Uchiha Itachi."

The slight widening of Hattori's eyes tells Itachi the missing-nin has heard of him. "Uchiha Itachi…pride of the clan." He snorts. "I thought you would be older. I suppose saying something like, 'I don't want to have to hurt you' wouldn't have any effect, then. I'll have to have to take you seriously."

"Return my student and any others you have captured to me and neither of us will have to hurt the other."

"I return them to you and what happens? They go back to the life of a shinobi, throwing their lives away for nothing?" Hattori shakes his head, his hand reaches and grips the hilt of his katana. "I abhor violence, but for the sake of these kids' future, I'll kill you if I have to."

"Then you leave me no choice. I'll cut you down and any of your men who stand in my way."

Hattori grins. "Cut me down? Kid," he disappears. A gust of wind blows past Itachi, stirring his hair. Itachi glances over his shoulder and finds Hattori standing behind him, sliding his katana back into its sheath. The sword clicks into place, Hattori meets Itachi's eyes over his shoulder. "You're already dead."

Itachi looks down to find blood darkening the green of his flak jacket, spreading from a cut that wasn't there a second ago. He probes the cut with two fingers, pulls them away and finds them sticky with blood. His eyes linger on his the bloody digits for a second. Looking up, he finds Hattori standing in his original position, before his bandits.

"Did you really think such a genjutsu would work on me?" Itachi drops his bloodless hand to his side. "I thought you were going to take me seriously?"

Hattori draws his sword slowly, deliberately. He regards Itachi with contempt. "It doesn't have to be this way."

Itachi opens one of the pockets of his flak jacket and draws a scroll. The scroll is unfurled, the seal inside activated, and a puff of smoke dissipates to reveal a ninjato, ANBU issue. Drawing the blade from its sheath, Itachi meets his own crimson eyed stare in the weapon's polished steel before staring down his opponent.

"Unfortunately, it does."


End file.
